Parenting comes with a lot of
headaches. From the moment you take the decision to allow your child own a
smartphone or other smart device, a whole source of worry develops.
This is
because despite the many benefits that comes with exposure to the internet,
your child also needs to be protected from the inherent dangers and pitfalls of
the notorious web.
The following tips from the
Research and Development of Yudala, Nigeria’s fastest growing e-commerce
outfit, will help keep your child safe on the internet.
1.Comply
with age restrictions for social media use: With the growing number of
social media sites available, most parents have a hard time keeping tabs on the
ones their children use. It must, however, be stated that there are age
restrictions for various social networks and blogs as a protective measure for
kids. This is especially because some of these sites can have serious negative
effects on children.
These include exposing them to nudity, cyber-bullying,
inappropriate content or grooming. Interestingly this fact is lost on many
parents, with statistics showing that some parents don't know if their children
are old enough to use social networks like Facebook,
Instagram or Snapchat. One of the ways of keeping your child safe on the
internet is to monitor and ensure that they are old enough for the various
social networks they use and also, that you do not give in to the temptation of
allowing them have accounts when they are not old enough.
For the avoidance of doubts, your
child must be at least 16 or older to use WhatsApp; 18 or older to use YouTube, Flickr, Keek (or 13 with
parent’s permission), while the likes of Twitter,
Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest require that your child is at
least 13 years old.
2.Beware
of Cyber-bullying: It is important to educate your child on the
pervasive problem of cyber-bullying and its often tragic effects on victims. Owing
to the increasingly technology-mediated world we live in, the scope of bullying
has extended from physical interactions in schools and playgrounds among
students to the internet. Cyberbullying refers to the use of electronic
communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating
or threatening nature. These include posting rumors about a person, threats,
sexual remarks, disclosing one’s personal information or hate speech.
Research
has shown a consistently strong link between bullying and suicide, as seen in
recent bullying-related suicides in the United States and other countries, with
global attention drawn to the potentially damaging effects of the scourge
following a string of high-profile cases. The threat of cyber-bullying is real
and children must be taught to immediately report mean or insulting messages
when they come across these online. Furthermore, lines of communication must be
kept open to ensure your child knows that he/she must talk to a teacher or
parent whenever something happens online that makes him/her feel uncomfortable.
3.Don’t
give out personal information online: Children are often impressionable
especially up to their teens. This makes them vulnerable to unscrupulous
elements in cyber-space looking to take advantage of their naivety and trusting
nature. A recent survey of 1,300 parents and 900 children conducted by renowned
tablet maker LeapFrog revealed that children as young as five are sharing
personal information online with people they don't know in real life, with over
half (56 per cent) of the children polled admit to sharing key personal
information online, putting themselves at risk of illegal activity or abuse
such as bullying, fraud or cyber predators.
The survey further showed that
about 41 per cent of children have shared their full name with strangers online
and another 38 per cent have sent photographs of themselves. It is important
for your child to know that personal information must not be given out to
strangers without the permission of a parent. Personal information includes
sensitive data such as passwords, home address, last name, photographs, school
name, telephone number, credit/debit card information, etc. These could be used
maliciously by a cyber-criminal to potentially costly effects.
4.Exercise
caution with online friends: Cyber-friendship is a concept that has been
taken to far-reaching levels owing to the popularity of social media networks
such as Facebook, among others. It is
much easier to make friends on the internet as the anonymity of the web and the
virtual space it creates gives teenagers and other young users a false sense of
security. This has often resulted in regrettable consequences for some exposed
kids through avoidable encounters with sexual offenders, cyber-bullies, child
predators and cyber-fraudsters.
Research from the Polly Klaas Foundation has it
that about 54% of children sampled admitted to frequently having private
conversations with online strangers or ‘friends’ through instant messaging. To
ensure your child remains safe online, it must be emphasized that extreme
caution must be exercised when making friends online or accepting friendship
requests on social media. Also, physical meeting with an online friend must not
be considered without the permission of a parent.
5.Safe
Downloads: With ransomware and hacking taking on global ramifications,
(examples include the recent WannaCry and Petya attacks which affected
computers in over 150 countries), it is important for kids for understand the
need to seek permission before downloading or installing software on their
laptops, tablets, smartphones or other devices. If left unguided, unsuspecting
children may be lured into opening suspicious links or downloading malicious
software that may compromise the entire family’s privacy or sensitive information.
The same level of caution should apply when your child is using a shared
resource such as a desktop or laptop computer in school or a cyber-café.
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